This past weekend marks the end of Artember with the grand finale having been Culture at the Creek. Artember is an amazing 17 day event celebrating Arts and Culture in and around Airdrie. It was started 4yrs ago by Creative Airdrie Society and is quickly emerging as an artistic Mecca for Alberta. Their goal is to help make arts and culture accessible to everyone across any border. If Artember’s success continues to grow at its current rate it could become to Airdrie what the Stampede is to Calgary. We were fortunate enough to have Sherry Shaw-Froggatt, who is one of the Creative Airdrie Society founders, come in to explain to us how businesses could become more involved in Artember. We were surprised at some of her suggestions as most of us didn’t realize many of the options open to us as business owners. Did you know that for a nominal fee you can display a local artist’s creations in your store front? In return you get free artwork for your office, advertising space in the Artember guides and a sandwich board in front of your business indicating your support and welcoming more foot traffic to stop in. This program has been so successful some of the companies have opted to display the artwork year round, rather than just for Artember. Did you know that if you own a building with a blank wall, Creative Airdrie can match you with a local artist to paint a mural on it? (I think we all know how much a mural improved the look of the metal quonset on 1st avenue.) You can’t advertise by putting your business name in the mural but you can certainly choose a subject matter that highlights your business. For example a coffee shop might choose to have a painting of coffee beans and a cup done. Did you know that if you have one of those ugly utility boxes or fire hydrants in front of your store or in your neighbourhood the city can approve artistic coverings for these? Just by contacting Creative Airdrie you could collaborate with them to have a unique cover created which complements your business or community. As an example the fire hydrants in Bayside could be painted up as lighthouses. This project could become our version of the painted cows. The possibilities are endless and the goal is to have every single one in the city done. Creative Airdrie has also recently launched the Artistic Flags along 1st avenue and have been inundated with calls to have more flags added in other locations. Put your request in now so as not to miss out on the opportunity to display your civic pride and artistic support. Are your creative juices flowing? Do you want to get more involved now that you know how easy it is? Well here’s how you can help... Creative Airdrie is currently looking for new board members. They can always use help from volunteers. They are also in need of places to host Pop-Up Galleries or “Dirty” spaces for Artists to create in. If you’d like to go all out, how about opening a full time Art Gallery in Airdrie? A first for our city and grossly overdue. Statistics show that for every dollar invested in the arts, double that is returned to the community. A 50% return on your money is certainly nothing to laugh at. Airdrie’s population growth and development is unprecedented and seems to attract hard working, entrepreneurial individuals along with some amazingly gifted artists. Building our community pride and unity through support and cooperation between these two groups is the foundation of Artember’s immense success. We are truly blessed to live in such a great city, and the sky’s the limit when we work together. For more information on Artember visit their website: http://artember.ca or to become more involved please contact the Creative Airdrie Society at info@creativeairdrie.caStay classy Airdrie!

The Noodlebox started out as a simple food stand in Victoria and has since expanded to 13 locations in BC and Alberta. Airdrie is fortunate enough to host the FIRST Alberta location and after trying one of their free samples at Airdrie Fest the other week, their rapid success is not surprising. However they are not just another pretty face in the restaurant industry. They are setting a new standard in the way businesses interact with their communities and the environment. From breaking ground to day to day operations Noodlebox stands alone in thinking “Outside the Box”. (Yes, the pun was intended.) Their motto of course has been Reuse, Recycle and Re-Purpose. During the construction of their location which is across from Walmart on Main Street, they did things like use beetle damaged wood from BC to build their tables. They sourced unwanted materials from local construction sites and re-purposed them into other items such as their chairs. Even the light fixtures are up-cycled cooking woks. If you’re looking for a one of a kind ambiance while enjoying some delicious food then the Noodlebox restaurant has it in spades. What else have they done that makes them truly unique? They are the first and ONLY business in Alberta that composts 99% of their product. Their To-Go containers, napkins and even sauce containers are all compostable and their composting bins are conveniently built and located right at the front door. The only thing they can’t recycle are their straws. They encourage patrons to use filtered water rather than bottled. The food they use is sourced locally, supporting food growers in our own community and leaving a smaller carbon foot print with reduced transportation requirements. Even the chicken they use in their recipes are free-range which is one of the most eco-friendly not to mention ethical methods of livestock farming. Why did they bother going the extra “green” mile? For one the staff were excited and felt a greater purpose by being a part of something bigger than themselves. Their commitment to the company and its philosophy was strengthened and resulted in ﻿less turn over﻿. Thinking local when sourcing products or materials reduces overall operation costs; and establishes a network of supporting businesses. By being so environmentally conscience, Noodlebox definitely stands out from their competitors; which is an effective and comprehensive marketing campaign. Pros for any business. A little extra time when planning and some specialized education was all it took to engage not only the staff and the customers in treating the environment better but the community as a whole. While that may be all fine and well for a restaurant, how can other types of companies improve their sustainability methods? No one person or company can save the world but we can certainly all do our part. Consider banding together with other nearby businesses to split the costs of composting or recycling waste materials. Try personalized coffee cups or water bottles for employees rather than disposable. Source local materials or services when possible. Simple steps can make a big difference... all it takes is a little innovation. Create an expectation and others will follow suit. Thanks for setting such a great example Noodlebox!www.noodlebox.net

Beautiful weather, great entertainment and of course the lure of the ever popular fire truck tour were just some of the factors resulting in a great turn out for this year’s Airdrie fest. TAN decided to throw their hat in the ring by registering a booth and thanks to the efforts of several members it was a smashing success! Our challenge was to find something that would attract attendees (especially families) to our booth and to fulfill our mandate of businesses helping businesses. Our answer was BINGO! Creating Bingo cards which listed the other exhibitors in the squares made it fun and challenging when touring the festival and helped drive more foot traffic to the exhibitors’ booths. There was nothing but positive feedback all around. At the end of the day we were completely out of cards and super impressed by the effort put in by the participants. However our success could not have been possible without the coordination and assistance of many others. As such we would like to take a moment to thank the following: Thank you to Lois Jones, Erin Paterson and the rest of the team over at Here’s the Scoop for all their help with the design of the Bingo Cards, the TAN Business Cards and care of the Door Prizes. Everything looked amazing! Thank you to Meghan Tudor (Sign Concepts) for the new TAN Banner. We’re looking forward to using it at all our upcoming events. Thank you to Charlene Gize (AWI Insurance), Muriel Bostick (Euphoria Hair and Salon), and Carolyn Christie (Kick it to the Curb Recycling) for their generous donations towards the Bingo Door Prizes. Thank you to Colette Storms (Summerhill Florists) for her donation of helium for the booth balloons. Thank you to Clayton Falk (Effective Solutions) for his assistance with the booth set up. Especially wrangling those balloons! Our booth was manned during the day by Jennifer Benner (Benner Database Designs), Clayton Falk (Effective Solutions), Charlene Gize (AWI Insurance) and Muriel Bostick (Euphoria Hair & Salon), so again a BIG thank you for your time and dedication. Finally thank you to Muriel and Kerry Bostick (Shilo Storey Real Estate) for helping with the take down and clean up. In addition to our members’ efforts many of the other exhibitors also pitched in and donated some amazing door prizes for the Bingo. We could not have asked for a better response and if one were looking for the epitome of cooperation our Airdrie Fest Bingo was it. Great job everyone and I think it’s safe to say we’ll be back next year for sure!